


A Brief Tale of Golden Locks and A Glowing Maiden

by homosexuwhy



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Coming of Age, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Meteorstuck, Short Chapters, one could say
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-07 04:45:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14073165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homosexuwhy/pseuds/homosexuwhy
Summary: " ‘A deep breath.’ She thought. ‘And then I’ll find all the strength I need’.Said breath came and went, and although she still felt only a strong as a child can be, a thought she would never voice due to her need to feel both older and stronger, she made the hard decision to move first and think later. "





	1. Of a Girl and Two Sharp Blades

She stood in front of the mirror, elevated by a stool so as to have a perfect view of her own face. The ever-growing weight in her left hand betrayed that this decision was quite the opposite from rational.

Twelve hadn’t been a nice year for her, but then again, for whom had it been? Rose had never done anything so rash and reckless, quite the opposite. Every misdemeanor or even slightly unstrict behavior from her part always came with careful ponderation and full understanding of the outcomes.

But today, she was tired, and her restless sleep had her jumping out of bet at 7 a.m. on a perfectly restful weekend, the only aftertaste of her dreams being the longing for the pair of scissors stored away at the lower office.

She now assumed the attack stance. One hand with the hefty weapon, the other holding hostage a pair of gorgeous golden locks. Rose had recently grown to despise them, the constant harassment of grown-ups, touching them and bombarding with weird questions about genetics, and hair products and their alternative formulas.

‘A deep breath.’ She thought. ‘And then I’ll find all the strength I need’.

Said breath came and went, and although she still felt only a strong as a child can be, a thought she would never voice due to her need to feel both older and stronger, she made the hard decision to move first and think later.

Human hair has no nerve endings, therefore cannot feel anything. It cannot feel itself being cut just as much as it doesn’t feel cold on a snowy day. But Rose was able to physically feel the blade against it, an effect she taught herself to call ‘placebo’.

The first movement was all she needed to set herself on a rampage. Everything the fist time had of precaution and fear, the ones which followed compensated in adrenaline and compulsion, almost as if she had done that her whole life.

Like anything else, it wasn’t meant to last. So once it came to its eventual end, Rose found herself shoving all of her old hair, and self, inside a supermarket plastic bag and leaving the well lit bathroom, not before admiring her brand new bob cut.

It was not that Rose was not faced with punishment for her deeds. But for her, it usually came in a different fashion. Mom, naturally, took her to a hair salon and much to her dismay, had it recut, hydrated and stylized with a band (which she kept, to spite her mother).


	2. Of Convenient Conversation

Rose’s hair had been growing slowly on the meteor. Not that she attributed that to any philosophical meaning. Naturally, that was the effect of the lack of sunlight and improper diet maintained by none other than herself. She could materialize a salad any time. But did she _want_ that? No.

And whatever growth it did have, was manageable. Not that big a deal, really.

But it was for her newfound brother, who strived to maintain his ‘ironic emo fringe’ or whatever he chose to call it. Anyway, that is what brought them to their current position, middle of meteor living space, same blond hair, different scissor.

It was very awkward, like all things involving Dave Strider in real life. Rose quietly hummed one of her old violin songs while she worked on the hair, small strand by small strand. Naturally, she didn’t have such care when it came to herself, but this was her brother. And if his uneasiness was any indicator, he wasn’t very used to have things done for him. Therefore, she would do her best to higher his standards.

Truth be told, she always wondered what I would be like, back at home, to have someone else. It was such a large place for a very small child, and there were things she couldn’t help but miss from her life.

When she thought of someone, that didn’t necessarily mean a sibling, but if that was what ectobiology gave her, she wouldn’t give it away so readily. So, there she was, doing her best for someone she wishes she had had more time with.

When Kanaya sat by her side in the couch, she didn’t consider turning around in greeting. This was one of many differences they held, as species. Rose didn’t feel the need to double check whether it was Kanaya or any other familiar troll, the same way she didn’t deem remarkable evaluating any threats in the newcomer or not.

Rose admittedly found amazing when she entered a room of trolls and they all would turn around and look her up and down, just to turn back around and continue their mundane tasks. She gave a small smile as she continued chopping Dave’s hair.

“So…” Kanaya called her attention. “Do you humans usually do this? Cutting hair?”

“Why, yes. I was under the impression trolls did that too.” Rose’s reply was rather absent, but sufficed.

“I’d say I do. Clearly the other trolls think differently. The most self-care I’ve seen is Eridan’s dyed strand. He would moisturize it weekly, although I think it did more harm than good.”

“Why would that be?” Rose encouraged her to keep talking. She enjoyed her casual eloquence, as if speaking in such a manner occurred to her against her own will. As for Rose, it took several hours of intense dictionary reading. But it payed off.

“Alternians don’t really invest in hair care. I wonder what the sources of his products were? Maybe he found them on sea. It wouldn’t be absurd to think he harvested his future kingdom for a new conditioner.”

“I have a hard time remembering how different our civilizations are. In a reasonably sized Earth city, you could find a drugstore in a generic street, well equipped with hair dyes and products.”

“I assume you must miss that, then. If I were to live in a place where I could leave under sunlight and purchase all sorts of haircare products, I would.”

Their conversation went on, idly, as Dave conveniently made himself absent by staring at the nearest wall and diving in thought. Even once Rose was finished, the girls continued talking about their different lives and entertaining each other with tales from their alien homelands.

Anyone wiling to partake was more than welcome, but in the end, it was only the two of them under the artificial yellow glow of the bulb not really far above them, feeling homesick. They knew it wouldn’t be light banter on hairdressers and lusii that would fill that hole in their hearts, but Rose found that not everything has to fulfill a greater part in her life.

Some things happened merely for the pleasure of doing so. That was fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again, there's gonna be another one tomorrow and I might end it on either four or five chapters, idk whats best yet


	3. Of Giving Up

There were things which had to fulfill a greater purpose. On the other hand. Many of them involved the tedious reunions about battle plans and new leads. No one had a new lead. It had been that way since forever. If she did See something, there is no doubt in the meteor Rose would notify everyone that very second.

What she had been seeing was a tad different, it couldn’t even be called Seeing. It was more along the line of feeling. Rose would wake up at night feeling her heart speed up, everything spinning and a hollow aftertaste to the absence of a dream. She’d be filling a cup of coffee and suddenly feel overwhelmed with joy and relief. When she was about to understand it, it would slip away from the eye of her mind.

She was getting tired of only feeling and not seeing. She was starting to feel like her role in this had come and gone, and she should retire her god tier pajamas and wait for a solution.

What stopped her was Kanaya. Kanaya and her Space aspect, holding a book and asking Rose to look over it, see if she finds anything of relevance. Because if she could give her best, even though her aspect would completely fail to help, then Rose could, too.

Her encounters with the troll held steady. Most of the selected literature ended up serving for their entertainment rather than actual research. Not that she was complaining. Over a few weeks, reading in the mahogany table turned into knitting as Kanaya read aloud, or debating the ancient history of another species over some popcorn.

Despite her life becoming more settled, Rose was aching for something to disrupt the fake tranquility she had built.

One day, she was able to pinpoint what bothered her the most.

"I don't want to do this today." She told Kanaya.

"I would prefer not to engage in tedious readings either. But it is what needs to be done." Kanaya didn't bother to lift her eyes from her book.

"Kanaya, I mean this. I will stand up and leave right now. You are invited to follow me, and I will not blame you if you stay." Now, Kanaya stared intensely as Rose closed her book and fixed her mess to a neat pile.

She left alone, with her head held high, but only until she exited the room. once out, she closed herself in the dark hallway. She had no clue where to go now, or even what to do. She couldn't think of anyone to be with or anything to do.

As she took deep breaths, her troll friend came out the door, glowing though the darkness. "Is this what you had in mind when you proposed another activity?"

Rose was unsure of what to say. She chose the truth.

"I didn't plan as far as out the door. Most of my effort was building up the courage to give up."

Kanaya stared about an inch to the left of Rose's face, in thought.

"Would you mind following me to my respiteblock?"

Rose thought for a brief moment. They had never visited each other's blocks before. "Not at all."

 


	4. Of Hanging Out

Unsurprisingly, The room was very well-lit. Around the single bed, there were floor lamps and the walls had fairy lights. Rose assumed Kanaya still missed the sun, but compensated with all of the lights.

As was costumery to most trolls, Kanaya had a big pile of fabrics, of all colors and patterns, which quite frankly looked cozy to Rose. She also had a bed, where laid her husktop and a bundle of cables and other miscellanea. 

Kanaya sat by the farthest edge of the bed, and motioned Rose to follow. “There’s this one movie I’ve been quite wanting to check out. I think the company of a human would be of great help.”

“Yeah, sure.” Rose agreed, moving around the bed and sitting beside Kanaya, within a comfortable distance. The sheets looked like patchwork, and Rose assumed those were hand made.

The movie was The Godfather. It surprised Rose quite a bit, even though the movie itself is famous and well rated. She was expecting a chickflick, or a comedy of some sort. Maybe even sci-fi. But not The Godfather. Golly, what would be next, Scarface? The Good Fellas? Only time will tell.

“Rose, what is it with the way they speak?” Kanaya asked, during the opening scene.

“Well, Corleone smoked so many cigars his throat couldn’t keep the normal voice. Also, they are Italian.”

“What’s an Italian?”

“That is for an Italian to explain.”                          

Soon after, Kanaya asked, again.

“What is a wedding, exactly?”

“It’s when two people, some would say a man and a woman, are joined in holy matrimony to spend their whole lives together and only be separated through death. Also when they love each other and want to move in together and have like children or whatever. It’s an old concept.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“Depends.” Rose thought for a bit. “Kanaya, would you mind turning the lights off? On Earth, it’s costumery to watch movies in the dark. Also with popcorn.”

“That’s fine. I hope you don’t mind my glowing on the other hand. I’m sorry I can’t offer you ‘popcorn’.”

“That’s fine. Maybe we can prototype some from || combining candy corns and sugar. I’ll see about that.”

The movie continued alright, with Kanaya making some questions about cultural things and Rose making snarky comments about just anything, really.  Kanaya’s glowing wasn’t as bothersome as she expected. She could always see her cold light from the corner of her eye, but it felt familiar more than anything.

At some point, it was convenient, even. Rose had lost her phone between the sheets and shyly used one of Kanaya’s hand as a flashlight. She held it using barely any force and located the thing quite fast. They both laughed briefly afterwards.

The movie is good, that is undeniable. In fact, that was decided long before Rose had even developed any critic skill. She was still surprised that was Kanaya’s pick, but what mattered is that they both enjoyed themselves. Kanaya a bit more, she was honestly impressed by “the depth that gave human culture and morals”.

In the end, Rose walked back to her room, cold hallways making her shiver, feeling just a little empty inside. Yet she had found a new purpose to her time: the amazing human emotion called friendship.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I have about three more of these tiny chapters done for months now, and i'll be posting them daily. I usually prefer long chapters, but I figured since I divided this work in many small episodes, it would be more pleasing to see it like this.  
> Have a great day and I hope you enjoyed it!


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